Alonso admits he was prepared to TURN DOWN Aston Martin for one team

Fernando Alonso has revealed that he would have signed a new contract with Alpine instead of moving to Aston Martin, but that no new deal was physically offered to him.

Alonso made the high-profile switch from Alpine to Aston Martin last year, something that has seen the Spaniard claim six podium finishes in 2023 so far.

It may seem a shrewd move on paper from the F1 veteran, but Alonso has now admitted that he may never have joined Aston Martin should Alpine have actually offered him a new a contract – something that Alonso insists never materialised.

READ MORE: Perez's Red Bull future at RISK with self-inflicted errors spelling the end

Alonso: Alpine never offered me a new deal

"Last year was quite a stressful grand prix here [Hungary] in terms of emotions, with that offer from Lawrence [Stroll]," he told French outlet Nextgen. "But yes, it was a good decision, a lucky decision and I'm glad I made it.

"In fact, it wasn't a choice, because I didn't receive any concrete offer from Alpine. Just words. If I'd had an offer from Alpine at the start of the year, I would have signed it, that's for sure. But I only had one offer and I accepted it."

"I don't think the Alpine is a slow car," he added. "It's a very fast car, as you saw at Silverstone, where Pierre [Gasly] was glued to my rear wing for over 30 laps.

"Performance changes very quickly from track to track and I'll be happy if I see Alpine going fast in the future. In the long term, I think Aston Martin is a good project and I'm happy with that, but I'm sure there will be many more battles against them."

Aston Martin eyeing up Mercedes

Aston Martin currently sit third in the constructors' standing, 22 points behind Mercedes in Second and 24 ahead of Ferrari in fourth. Yet Alonso is adamant that his team are not looking over their shoulder.

"Trying to finish second is the goal but it's going to be tough all the way to the end," he said.

"We'll see how we finish this championship, but we can't forget that there are several very fast teams and drivers behind us. Ferrari and McLaren are going to come up or have already started to.

"But we're looking ahead, we're looking at Mercedes, because that's the right attitude to have to continue to protect our lead cushion in terms of points over our pursuers."

READ MORE: Best F1 TV commentators and presenters: GPFans Broadcaster Power Rankings

Related

Max Verstappen

Manufacturer gives UPDATE on controversial Verstappen award saga

• August 18, 2023 12:57

Nico Rosberg

Rosberg opens up on CURSE after jinxing two more drivers

• July 27, 2023 15:57